WHO Report Highlights Progress and Gaps in Global Tobacco Control
WHO Report Highlights Progress and Gaps in Global Tobacco Control
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The World Health Organization (WHO) released its 2025 Global Tobacco Epidemic report on 23 June, revealing that tobacco use continues to claim over seven million lives annually worldwide, UN website revelaed. The report underscores significant progress in tobacco control but warns that major challenges remain.
Since 2007, 155 countries have implemented at least one of the six WHO MPOWER policies, which include monitoring tobacco use, protecting people from smoke, offering cessation support, warning about tobacco dangers, banning advertising, and raising taxes. These efforts now protect more than 6.1 billion people—approximately three-quarters of the global population.
Notably, 110 countries require graphic health warnings on tobacco packaging, a measure proven to reduce consumption. Regulation of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), such as e-cigarettes, has also increased, with 133 countries regulating or banning these products by 2024, up from 122 in 2022.
Despite these advances, gaps persist. Around 110 countries have not conducted anti-tobacco campaigns since 2022, even though second-hand smoke causes about 1.3 million deaths annually. Forty countries have yet to adopt any MPOWER measures, and over 30 still allow cigarette sales without mandatory health warnings.
WHO’s Director of Health Promotion, Ruediger Krech, urged governments to act boldly to close these gaps, strengthen enforcement, and invest in proven tobacco control tools to save lives.
